This invention relates to improved apparatus for supporting contactors used in extracting nuclear materials from liquids, and more particularly, to box beam support frames for contactors used for liquid extraction involving nuclear materials.
Contactors are centrifugal devices used to extract nuclear materials from liquid solutions. They generally include a housing in which aqueous radioactive materials which include nuclear waste such as transuranic elements (TRUs) are mixed with an organic solvent. The organic solvent extracts the TRUs from the aqueous phase as the two phases are mixed. The two phases are then separated by centrifugal force and removed through separate exit ports. Centrifugal force is created by a rotor in the housing and a motor secured to the top of the housing.
Typically, aqueous radioactive waste is processed through a series of contactor stages arranged in a row. The apparatus is isolated to contain radioactivity, and is operated and maintained with mechanical devices such as robotic arms. In known apparatus, the contactors are supported by an L-shaped beam secured near the top of the contactor housing. The beam is supported by vertical posts located both behind the contactor and in front of it. Interconnect pipes through which the liquids flow from one contactor to another bend around the outside of the posts.
In order to have sufficient stability with the known design, the posts must be relatively short. A problem with using short posts is that the drain in the bottom of the contactor is then rather close to the ground surface, and is relatively difficult to access. If the posts are made much longer, they become susceptible to unacceptable vibrations. The longer posts cannot be made significantly thicker, however, without interfering with the interconnect pipes.
Moreover, the known support system is inconvenient to use because the front posts limit access t a drain valve in the bottom of each contactor stage and other parts of the equipment which must be adjusted by the mechanical devices used to control and maintain the contactors. Thus, there is a need for support systems for contactors which have added stability and improved access for control and maintenance.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for supporting contactors used for separating radioactive materials in aqueous solutions.
Another object is to provide new and improved apparatus for supporting contactors which is sufficiently stable during operation.
Still another object is to provide new and improved apparatus for supporting contactors which permits the contactors to be supported an extended distance from the effective ground surface, for improved access to the drain valves.
Yet another object is to provide new and improved apparatus for supporting contactors which provides improved access to drain valves and other parts of the contactors from at least three sides of the contactors.